it’s probably time for resipiscence. This isn’t about whether or not the women being employed have the right to do the job, but rather that femininity is being reduced to “make us bend over and shoot our asses because you’re a perennially erect, two-footed penis. You have no brain: you will buy this product because we marketed at your biology like an 0898 number in the back of a ‘lads’ mag. Women are asses you want to ****. You’re a ****-rod. Now give us some money.” It’s broadside contumeliousness. If women want to work in industries in which they’re distilled to the sum of their sexual parts, that’s entirely up to them; what is being contested here is the right of companies to commit such depredations before mainstream audiences.The ontogeny of the sexism in games debate recapitulates the phylogeny of the subject in general. As with the rest of society, the games trade, however slowly, has become acutely aware that using sex to sell in this way is,

to say the least, solecistic. While bumptious lefties have repeated the message to the point of palilalia, susurruses of discontent are now being heard across the spectrum and the momentum’s obvious: it’s widely accepted that the tottering lasciviousness we’ve previously endured at E3 and gamescom is anachronistic. It’s not up for debate hereafter. Eurogamer Expo’s move transmutes the booth babe issue from theory to fact in Europe, and PAX has already made the step. It’s happened, and other games shows should now find themselves pressured to follow suit. It’s time: ban the booth babe.

Inuring to the use of show models isn’t a female manumission – although some crusaders may well see it as such – but, less grandly, is about ensuring sexuality can’t be discomfortingly and capitalistically exploited in everyday environments over which we can exert control.

Booth babes at games events are the post-ban cigarette in the bar, a pervasive stink modernisers politely ignore until eventually, inevitably, some brave soul has to insist that the offender take their antediluvian discourtesy outside. Finally, we have an unirenic landlord, Rupert Loman, with the sangfroid to pull the ashtrays from the tables and point to the door. Some things, we have learned with time, should be kept out of public spaces: sexist marketing is one of them.

Under Defeat HD: Deluxe Edition, will release this fall, Rising Star Games has announced.Along with the graphically updated environment, developer G.rev has added other new upgrades and player modes.

Players take on the role of a helicopter pilot in a war-torn struggle between the Empire and Union.

In addition to the full game disc, Rising Star Games’ Under Defeat HD: Deluxe Edition includes:

Digital art bookAll current DLC and patchesSoundtrack CDLetter from G.rev CEO and Under Defeat Executive Producer Hiroyuki MaruyamaUnder Defeat HD will be available this fall on both PS3 and PSN for $29.99.

Sony has filed suit against Jerry Lambert, the actor who plays fictional PlayStation executive Kevin Butler in a series of popular ads campaigns.As spotted by Neogaf users, Sony is suing both Wildcat Creek Inc, a company owned by Lambert, and Bridgestone, in whose ads Lambert has appeared in a quite Kevin Butler-like role.

In a statement given to VentureBeat, Sony claimed Lambert is in breach of contract.

“Sony Computer Entertainment America filed a lawsuit against Bridgestone and Wildcat Creek, Inc. on September 11. The claims are based on violations of the Lanham Act, misappropriation, breach of contract and tortious interference with a contractual relationship.

We invested significant resources in bringing the Kevin Butler character to life and he’s become an iconic personality directly associated with PlayStation products over the years. Use of the Kevin Butler character to sell products other than those from PlayStation misappropriates Sony’s intellectual property, creates confusion in the market, and causes damage to Sony.”

Lambert has appeared in a number of online and TV ads for the PlayStation brand, including the It Only Does Everything and Long Live Play campaigns. He’s also appeared live on stage at E3 and is regularly spotted roaming the social media wilds. A recent run of Bridgestone ads have featured Lambert in a role displaying similarly distinctive mannerisms and attitudes; some have been edited in the wake of Sony’s legal pursuit.

Something called the Rockstar Games Collection has turned up on a couple of retailers – Buy.com and CDUniverse – after appearing on NeoGAF. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 package is rumoured for a November 13 release in the US, and packs in Red Dead Redemption, LA Noire, Midnight Club: Los Angeles Complete Edition and Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City (GTA IV’s DLC as a standalone offering) for just $60. I’ve asked Rockstar if it can tell us anything about the package but haven’t heard back yet, so file this one under “yes pwease” rather than “weally twoo” for now.

Street Fighter x Tekken will be given a thorough overhaul with a free update bringing the fighter to Version 2013.The update announced by Yoshinori Ono during New York Comic Con, and then detailed during a panel by Matt Dahlgren.

Version 213 is expected in mid-December and althouhg a full change list has not been released, some of the details are listed below, as reported by Shoryuken:

System ChangesStandard throws are faster, and now have a 5F start-up, rather than the 7F start-up in previous versions.

Anti-air techniques for Tekken characters have been improved.Recoverable health regenerates at a slower rater, reducing the number of timeouts.Recoverable health has a more distinct color.The cinematic camera during Boost Combos has been changed, giving battles a speedier feel.The visual effect while Gems are active has been changed.The “Fight” message at the start of each round disappears faster.Character ChangesKen: ’Shippu Jinraikyaku’ now has greater forward movement and increased damage.Kazuya: ’EX Wind God Fist’ now has full invincibility from the start-up to the end of active frames.M. Bison: ’Knee Press Nightmare” is now projectile-invincible.Bob and Paul: Walk speed is now faster.

Soul Reaver wasn’t originally developed as a sequel to Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, Amy Hennig has said. If you haven’t played any of the game’s in the series – for shame – know there are potential spoilers below.Speaking in a retrospective on the PS Blog, Hennig – the game’s writer and director – said Soul Reaver was originally conceptualized as a new IP titled Shifter, and loosely inspired by Paradise Lost.

The protagonist was essentially a fallen angel of death, a reaper of souls hunted by his former brethren, and now driven to expose and destroy the false god they all served,” she said. “The Shifter concept was the genesis of the game that would become Soul Reaver; the core ideas were all there. The hero was an undead creature, able to shift between the spectral and material realms, and glide on the tattered remains of his wing-like coattails.

“We conceived the spirit realm as a twisted, expressionistic version of the physical world. The hero was bent on revenge after being betrayed and cast down by his creator – like Raziel, he was a dark savior figure, chosen to restore balance to a blighted, dystopian world.

“When we were asked to adapt this concept into a sequel to Blood Omen, our challenge was to take all these ideas and merge them creatively into the Legacy of Kain mythos.”

Hennig said despite the change in direction, the finished product was “pretty close” to original concept of Shifter.

“We had to cut content, but the core concept of the game remained unchanged,” she said. “To hit the August ’99 release date, we had to cut the last few levels of the game, and end on a cliffhanger that set up Soul Reaver 2.

“Originally, Raziel was going to hunt down and destroy all of his former brothers as well as Kain – and then, using his newly-acquired abilities, he would’ve activated the long-dormant pipes of the Silenced Cathedral to wipe out the remaining vampires of Nosgoth with a sonic blast.

Only then would he realize that he’d been the Elder God’s pawn all along, that the purging of the vampires had devastating consequences, and that the only way to set things right would be to use Moebius’ time-streaming device to go back in time and alter history (in the sequel).

“So the story would have arrived at a similar place, just by a different route. In the end, as much as I hated its bluntness, Soul Reaver’s “To Be Continued” ending probably turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because I think it opened up more interesting story options for the sequels.”You can read the entire interview with Hennig through the link.

Aliens: Colonial Marines will help fill-in some of the story holes present in the film Aliens 3, according to Gearbox.Speaking during the Aliens: Colonial Marines NYCC panel, which Polygon sat in on, Gearbox said the story in the game will contain “pure Aliens canon,” but with a “bigger, wider experience.’

“There were two itches that needed to be scratched,” said Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford. “Anyone who has seen the Aliens movies shares these itches. The first one is, there was some story you felt was supposed to happen after that first movie, and Aliens 3 was not it. Once we knew that universe is larger and there were colonial marines, we

larger and there were colonial marines, we wished for a bigger, wider experience. We never got that. “The other itch is, the opportunity to become a character in the movies in a video game medium, to be a hero in this place… We want to be colonial marines. In a video game we can live the fantasy of being one of these guys and living in this situation, filling the gap in the story that should have been filled after Aliens.

“That became the nut we needed to crack. If you love the Alien films, there’s a lot of tension. The fun of being in the boots of these marines isn’t always having the alien in your face, but feeling that sense of exploration and discovery.

“You’re in the movie, and you control the camera—you’re like a virtual tourist in these sets.”

The game’s lead writer, Mikey Neumann, said the team’s goal in creating the game was to merge the canon with something new.

“The other itch is, the opportunity to become a character in the movies in a video game medium, to be a hero in this place… We want to be colonial marines. In a video game we can live the fantasy of being one of these guys and living in this situation, filling the gap in the story that should have been filled after Aliens.

“That became the nut we needed to crack. If you love the Alien films, there’s a lot of tension. The fun of being in the boots of these marines isn’t always having the alien in your face, but feeling that sense of exploration and discovery.

“You’re in the movie, and you control the camera—you’re like a virtual tourist in these sets.”

The game’s lead writer, Mikey Neumann, said the team’s goal in creating the game was to merge the canon with something new.

“If you’ve seen the film it’s fan service, and if you haven’t seen them it’s content,” said Pitchford. “I like that approach. Playing with that sort of dissonance between the two entry points, whether you have previous information or you don’t, and making it work for all minds was a trick.”

Aliens: Colonial Marines is out in February 2013 on PC, PS3, Wii U and Xbox 360.

A new entry in the massive .hack franchise is on the way, CyberConnect 2 boss Hiroshi Matsuyama confirmed at New York Comic Con.There is actually a [.hack] title that has yet to be revealed, in which we will implement new ideas. Stay tuned for details, as we’re not allowed to release them right now,” Matsuyama told Gematsu.

While the developer declined to give solid details, he did say that the new title is head to both consoles and handhelds.

The .hack series is a fairly confusing conglomerate of games, anime, manga and spin-off media which is mainly concerned with a fictional MMO called The World which is troubled by mysterious goings on. Although other creators have had a hand in it, it is CyberConnect2′s brainchild.

Criterion will return to the high-octane franchise that made us fall in love with it all over again: Burnout.For reasons unknown, The Guardian asked Criterion creative director Craig Sullivan what else his team might like to do besides the thing they are incredibly good at it – making amazing racing games.

“There’s still a lot of stuff we want to do with driving,” Sullivan said, before dropping a joy bomb. “We will make another Burnout game at some point.

“Obviously, as we’re working on NFS we’re thinking of really good ideas that aren’t right for this series; there are ideas that we’re going to explore with Burnout.

Upcoming Max Payne 3 DLC, the Hostage Negotiation Pack, will be released on October 30, Rockstar has announced,. The Hostage Negotiation Pack will be free for Rockstar Pass holders, or available a la carte for 800 MS Points/$9.99. The pack includes four new multiplayer maps plus new items and weapons as well a new avatar faction. The DLC will be made available on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.

Skylanders Giants is nearly with us. The sequel to one of 2011′s surprise hits is readying itself for release tomorrow. Players can pick this up on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and 3DS.Each Giant is twice the size of the game’s normal characters, which include returning favourites from the original title.

Understandably, Activision is more than happy with how the series is performing.

“It’s really gratifying that in less than a year, we’ve seen Skylanders go from being an intriguing untested new IP to becoming one of the hottest kids franchises in the world.